Praise for Declan Burke: “Burke shows again that he’s not just a comic genius, but also a fine dramatic writer and storyteller.” – Booklist. “Proust meets Chandler over a pint of Guinness.” – Spectator. “Among the most memorable books of the year, of any genre.” – Sunday Times. “A hardboiled delight.” – Guardian. “Imagine Donald Westlake and Richard Stark collaborating on a screwball noir.” – Kirkus Reviews. “A cross between Raymond Chandler and Flann O’Brien.” – John Banville.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Reed All About It

Writing a newspaper feature on the Edgar nominees earlier this week, we asked a few people why they thought Irish crime fiction was becoming so popular in the US. Reed Farrel Coleman’s (right) answer came back a little late to meet the deadline, but given its generosity to Ken Bruen, a fellow nominee and theoretically a rival for the Edgar ‘Best Novel’ category, we thought we’d bring it to your attention. Quoth Reed:

“Ken Bruen and I have actually spent hours discussing this. I think Irish writers have a gift for lending soul and depth to darkness. It’s one thing to write dark, to write violence. It’s quite another thing to write it in a way that cuts through the intellect and defences we’ve built up to protect ourselves. I think the Irish writers have the hot knife that cuts through that stuff. It’s why I’m so honoured when Bruen asks if I don’t possess an Irish soul.”

The Big Question: How come crime writers are always so blummin’ nice to one another all the time?